The Commonwealth Bank of Australia's core banking project is progressing on track and on time, according to SAP's local head Tim Ebbeck.

Tim Ebbeck(Credit: SAP)

"On time, on budget and on track for value delivery," he said of
the project that will have SAP's system at its core. "Six months
after they signed a contract with us they had their first product
out on the new core banking platform," he said. "Not talking about it, not
designing it, not architecting it. Out. Working." According to Ebbeck
many people didn't seem to realise how far ahead Commonwealth Bank was
with the project.

It had gone so smoothly that many didn't know a changeover had
occurred, according to Ebbeck. "The people actually using this
don't know it's actually the new integrated core banking system,"
he said. "There's actually products out there running today on that
new platform and it's not just in one part of the business isolated
over here — it's part of their core offering."

So far, the Commonwealth Bank has publicly announced the launch
of term deposit products and a
new front for NetBank — although
that triumph was dulled slightly by the
NetBank issues the bank dealt with at the end of the financial year. Commonwealth Bank CIO Michael Harte has said that the
bank hopes to get the whole core banking program done in three and
a half years, angling to gain a first mover advantage.

Yet Commonwealth Bank won't wait for banks to catch up. "It's all right to talk
about a platform, it's another to actually deliver one," Ebbeck said. "I know for a fact that
Commonwealth Bank is actually doing so."

Ebbeck feels confident enough about how the project is going to
take on another banking customer for the same type of work.

"If you'd asked me this question 12 months ago, my honest answer
would have been that I wouldn't do another one right now. I don't
think it would be right for SAP and I don't think it would be right
for either customer. I don't think that's true any longer," he
said.

Ebbeck believes the Commonwealth Bank experience is an ace in
SAP's pocket. "I'd contend that Commonwealth Bank is a case study in
business transformation globally," he said. "I'd never seen a
project run as well and efficiently with an eye to value delivery
as distinct to just specification delivery."